


The Swan and the Prince

by McBangle



Series: McBangle's Check, Please Halloween 2016 [7]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Fluff, Historical Inaccuracy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 15:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8407678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McBangle/pseuds/McBangle
Summary: 13 Days of Halloween, October 28th: A costume ball AU.The entire Kingdom of Samwell was abuzz with talk of the costume ball that King Bob the Not-So-Bad was throwing in honor of Prince Jack’s birthday. Every noble and knight of the kingdom was invited. Unfortunately, invitations were not extended to squires like Eric the Bitty.





	

The entire Kingdom of Samwell was abuzz with talk of the costume ball that King Bob the Not-So-Bad was throwing in honor of Prince Jack’s birthday. Every noble and knight of the kingdom was invited. Unfortunately, invitations were not extended to squires like Eric the Bitty.

It was probably for the best, Eric told himself as he settled the saddle on Sir Shitty’s horse. Prince Jack had clearly never liked him. He always frowned intimidatingly when he watched Eric’s jousting practice. Eric had once even overheard Prince Jack comment that no matter how fast and skilled Eric may be at dodging blows, he would never be dubbed a knight so long as he was afraid to take a hit. The prince actually told Eric to eat more turkey legs. The nerve of him!

“Count yourself lucky that you weren’t invited to the costume ball, chum,” Sir Shitty spoke as if he were reading Eric’s mind. “It will be just another load of bull pizzle to impress the surrounding kingdoms. A typical bourgeois tactic to consolidate wealth and power.”

Eric enjoyed squiring for Sir Shitty. He was patient, fair, and loyal to a fault, even if he did have a tendency to blaspheme. A lot. Eric was certain that “Shitty” was not his Christian name, but no one seemed to know how he’d been christened that name, and Sir Shitty wasn’t telling.

“So you won’t be attending the ball, then?” Eric asked as he assisted Sir Shitty in mounting his steed.

Sir Shitty shook out his glorious mane of hair before placing his helmet on his head. “Of course I’m attending the ball. I swore my fealty to Prince Jack, that glorious whoreson. I’d follow him into war if he asked me to.” At this, Sir Shitty double-tapped his fist over his heart, then kissed two fingers of his right hand and held them up to the sky. “Anyway, King Bob always throws the most _epic_ balls.”

* * *

“It’s just not fair,” Eric sighed ruefully, examining the embroidery on the costume Larissa was sewing for Sir Shitty. “Everyone else will get to dress up in fancy costumes and dance the night away, while we’re stuck behind here.”

“Do you really want to go to the ball?” Larissa asked around a mouthful of pins.

“Of course I do,” Eric confirmed. “Wearing a fancy costume, pretending to be someone I’m not, maybe even meeting a handsome stranger…” He hugged his arms around himself. “Those kind of adventures don’t happen to squires like me, but maybe one day…”

“You should go.” Larissa nodded her head decisively.

“What?” Eric started. “But… I can’t…”

“You will.” She continued sewing without missing a stitch, her mind already made up. “I designed three different costumes for Sir Shitty before he chose this one. It’ll be easy to make you a costume from one of the other designs. The hardest part will be taking it in to fit your measurements.” She glanced up and down at him, measuring him with her eyes. “I’ll get it to you by the night before the ball.”

“But I… I…” Eric sputtered. “I’m not invited!”

Larissa raised one eyebrow. “That’s why you’re going to be wearing a mask,” she replied dryly. “No one needs to know you’re there.”

“I’m sorry, but I need you to stop right there.” Eric’s heart nearly stopped when Sir Shitty walked into the room. “Did I hear Larissa say that you’re planning to sneak into the costume ball?”

“I… we… we were just… we weren’t…” Eric stammered.

“Yup,” Larissa confirmed.

“You beautiful pig-fucker, that is genius!” Sir Shitty whacked Eric hard on the back. “Subverting the exclusionary tactics of the ruling class! I am _in_! I’ve got your back on this, chum!”

* * *

“Adam and Justin! Get over here, you lousy swineherds! You have _got_ to meet Sir Aaron the Brave, of the Kingdom of Madison!”

Eric spun out of the grip Sir Shitty had on his shoulder and ducked into the crowds before the two knights reached him. Sir Shitty appeared to have a difficult grasp of the concept of _sneaking into_ the ball. He was attracting enough attention as it was in his garish peacock costume, and he was pulling over every knight and noble he knew to show off his “new chum”. Sir Will the Dexterous had done a double-take when Sir Shitty had introduced them earlier that evening. They’d come dangerously close to being caught before Sir Derek had provided a much-needed distraction to Sir Will by arriving in a tight-fitting Robin Hood costume at a critical moment.

Eric pushed his way through the crowds until he found a darkened room. Once inside, he breathed a sigh of relief, running his hands down his tunic. He had to admit that under any other circumstances, he’d have been thrilled to show off Larissa’s handiwork. How she’d completed this amazing costume so quickly was a mystery to him!

His tunic was of the finest wool he’d ever encountered, a pure white. She’d embroidered the body of a swan over the bottom half of the tunic, with extra panels sewn on to resemble feathers. Outlined in gold-colored thread, the neck of the swan curved up the right side of his torso and around his neckline, culminating in a gorgeously detailed head embroidered over his heart. His own plain black trousers provided a simple contrast to the magnificent tunic.

Best of all was the papier-mâché mask that she’d designed for him. Gilded wings sprouted from the temples of the mask, while a crowned swan head arched proudly over his forehead. He could nearly believe he was nobility in this costume.

Eric knew he could _never_ afford such luxuries. Larissa must have spent a fortune on the gold leaf alone! Undoubtedly Sir Shitty had reimbursed her for it, but Eric would be paying them both back from his paltry salary for… probably the rest of his life.

But it would be worth it. He would treasure this costume forever. “Lord, that girl is talented,” he marveled.

An unseen voice uttered “oh,” startling Eric from his musings. Turning in the direction he’d heard the voice coming from, Eric realized, to his deep embarrassment, that the room wasn’t nearly as empty as he’d imagined upon first entering it. A man clad all in deep blue stood in the far corner.

“Oh my goodness, I am so sorry, I thought I was alone. I didn’t mean to bother you, you probably wanted some privacy and here I am barging in and bothering you…” Eric stopped before he embarrassed himself further. “I’ll… leave you to it, then,” he added, backing out of the room.

“No, please don’t,” the stranger stepped closer to Eric. In the dim light, Eric could barely discern his tall frame and broad shoulders.  “Stay. It was getting lonely in here.”

Eric laughed incredulously. “If you’re lonely, then you don’t need me to entertain you. There are crowds of people right outside this door.”

“I’m aware,” the taller man chuckled. “Why do you suppose I came in here?”

Eric could only shake his head dumbly. Surely this gentleman, with his fine posture and aristocratic accent, belonged at a ball such as this. Eric would never have ducked out if he hadn’t feared exposure. Why would anyone have left if they didn’t have to?

“It was lonely out there too.” The man gestured toward the door.

That… didn’t make any sense. Eric tilted his head and squinted in the direction of the other man. “Lonely? Surrounded by all of those people?”

The man stepped closer. He spoke urgently, as if trying to express something that Eric didn’t quite understand. “Have you ever found yourself surrounded by people dying to see you, yet none of them truly _saw_ you?”

“Oh Heavens, no,” Eric batted his hand at the air. “What I would give to be in your shoes. _No one_ ’s dying to see me. Most people ignore me.”

“That seems hard to believe,” the stranger quirked a smile. “Aren’t you Sir Aaron the Brave of the Kingdom of Madison?”

Eric froze. “Have… we met, then?”

“Not directly.” Even in the dark of the room, Eric could see his companion’s warm smile. “But it’s hard to ignore the most skilled – and loudest – knight in the kingdom.”

“Oh Lord.” Eric rolled his eyes. “He was just _so_ enthusiastic tonight. I had to step away on my own, if only for a few minutes, before he introduced me to every person in attendance. I mean, Sir Shitty can be wonderful but…”

“But sometimes he’s a bit much?” the other man offered.

“Yes,” Eric agreed, beaming up at him. This was an unexpected pleasure. Nothing that night had occurred the way he’d expected. All week long, he’d conjured elaborate fantasies of being the most in-demand guest at the ball, fascinating nobility from all of the surrounding kingdoms with his wit and wisdom, maybe even dancing with a handsome foreign prince. Yet when he’d arrived at the ball, he'd found himself shrinking away from every person Sir Shitty had tried to introduce him to, too terrified of being caught out to enjoy himself. Then he’d come to this room in search of solitude and instead was having the most fun he’d had all night, talking with a stranger he could barely see. Perhaps the darkness and quiet was liberating for him. Perhaps–

“And how does a foreign knight such as you know Sir Shitty?” his new friend interrupted his train of thought.

“Oh!” Eric started. “Oh, I… I don’t know him. That is, I didn’t. Before tonight. I met him tonight, at the ball.” He coughed. “We’ve become fast friends.”

“ _Very_ fast, indeed.”

Eric straightened himself to his full height, such as it was. “I’ll have you know, I have a great many friends. Very influential and… and important friends.”

“I’m sure you do,” the gentleman replied.

“All over the kingdom. _Kingdoms._ Many kingdoms,” he continued. “And I make friends easily. Everywhere I go.”

“Now _that_ I believe.” The taller man smiled down at him.

“You’re teasing me.” Eric settled his hands on his hips.

“Have you figured that out all on your own?” the other man asked, not unkindly.

“Oh, _you_.” Eric batted at his arm. He touched the softest velvet. Very fine velvet. Undoubtedly prohibitively expensive royal blue velvet, the kind only…

“Your Highness!” a middle-aged man burst into the room. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Your parents are calling for you. It’s nearly midnight – time for the unmasking.”

Eric was just about ready to die. He couldn’t be… No. He couldn’t have been… He inched backwards toward the open door, hoping not for the first time that night that he could simply sneak out unnoticed. Why in the world did he let Larissa and Sir Shitty talk him into this? Oh, what he wouldn’t give to be his usual invisible self just now!

“Tell my parents I’m coming, Murray. I’ll join them in time for the unmasking.” As the older man exited, tut-tutting about the time, the prince stepped forward into the light streaming in from the door, and Eric could deny it no longer. He had spent the last few (admittedly delightful) minutes talking with Prince Jack. Prince Jack who hated him. Prince Jack who would undoubtedly hate him even more if he knew that Eric had sneaked into his ball and tricked the prince into speaking with him. Prince Jack who was currently standing between Eric and the only exit from the room. Prince Jack who was looking extremely handsome in an Ice Prince costume.

“Are you coming, Eric?” the prince held out his hand to Eric, smiling a dazzling smile.

“Oh! Is it nearly midnight?” Eric laughed nervously. “Gosh, I’d love to stay for the unmasking but… My kingdom needs me! And it was such a long carriage ride so I’d better leave now if I want to return by morning. We brave knights have so many responsibilities, you know. So many… dragons to fight…” Something clicked. “Eric?”

“You’re Sir Shitty’s squire, Eric the Bitty.” The prince’s handsome blue eyes crinkled. “I recognized you as soon as you started speaking.”

“But… I…” Eric stammered.

“And I’d like to hire whoever made that tunic for you to be my personal tailor,” Prince Jack continued. “They did amazing work.”

“I… you…”

“You can tell me all about it later. It’s time now for the unmasking.” The prince held his hand out again, expectantly.

Eric trembled. “I can’t unmask in front of all of those people! Someone will recognize me! I’m not supposed to be here; they’ll kick me out.”

“ _No one_ will kick out the prince’s personal guest,” Prince Jack reassured him. “But if you aren’t comfortable unmasking, then you won’t have to. By decree of the prince, you are absolved from unmasking. But please join me. I want to continue our conversation.” Once more, he held his hand out to Eric.

Eric took a deep breath. He could do this. He couldn’t imagine how this could really be happening, but he could do this. His hand shook as he reached out to Prince Jack, but the moment the prince enveloped his hand in the prince’s own, a warmth started in Eric’s hand and heart, spreading outward. Taking a shaky breath, he stepped out of the room, hand in hand with his prince.

Above the murmurs of the crowd, one voice rang out the loudest:

“Woo! Mother-buggering Sir Aaron the Brave! That’s my chum!”

**Author's Note:**

> So, Eric's tunic is basically a cross between [Johnny Weir's swan lake costume](http://a.espncdn.com/i/eticket/20100111/photos/etick_weir03_412.jpg) and [Bjork's swan dress](https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/2-photosbjork.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=664&h=441&crop=1), but gold-accented. And it is fabulous. Also, see Eric's mask [here](http://www.venice-carnival-italy.com/img/slide/CarnivalGrandMasqueradeBall.jpg).
> 
> This may be my last contribution for the 13 Days of Halloween Fic-a-Thon, and in case it is I just want to say thank you to omgericzimmermann for conceiving of it and setting it up! It's been a blast!


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